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Angrboda
}} Angrboda, also spelled Angur-boda, is a giantess-witch connected to the Norse pantheon. Her name means "distress-bringer". She is best known as the mother of the wolf Fenrir, the goddess Hel, and the world-serpent Jormungandr. Description Appearance and personality Angrboda is a hideous giantess, standing ten feet tall. She can assume the form of a beautiful woman and walk easily among men and gods. Angrboda is neutral evil in alignment. She spends her time among the witches of Jarnvid plotting the ruin of the Aesir. Abilities Angrboda can regenerate any injury, like a troll. She can only be permanently be killed by burning the body to ash, which takes a full day. She is also resistant to fire. Angrboda is both a highly skilled arcanist, able to cast powerful 9th level spells, and a competent warrior. Portfolio Angrboda is not one of the Aesir, and nothing is known about her interaction with the mortals of Midgard. Worship Dogma Details of Angrboda's cult, if any, are unknown. Worshipers The people of Midgard typically worship the Norse pantheon as a collective group. Angrboda is not usually counted among the Aesir. Clergy Unknown. Holy sites Unknown. Holy symbol Unknown. Favored weapon Angrboda herself carries a staff of striking capped with a skull. Relationships Family Angrboda is the mother of Loki's three monstrous offspring: the wolf Fenrir, who shall swallow Odin at Ragnarok; Hel, the goddess of the dead; and Jormungandr, the world-serpent. She also has a daughter Gerd, whose father is the evil frost giant Gymir. Gerd was evil too, until she married the god Frey. By Fenrir she is the grandmother of Skoll and Hati Hrodvitnisson, the wolves who chase the sun and moon through the sky. Enemies Angrboda is a sworn enemy of the Aesir. She spends her days plotting their ruin and awaiting the beginning of Ragnarok, in which the Aesir shall be slain. Allies Angrboda works with the witches of the forest Jarnvid. Artifacts Angrboda carries a skull-tipped staff of striking which can slay living by touch. Realm Angrboda inhabits the forest of Jarnvid, in Jotunheim. Publication history Original D&D Angrboda is first mentioned in as the mother of Hel, Jormungandr, and Fenris. AD&D 1st edition Angrboda is briefly mentioned in and . The primary source on Angrboda is the article . AD&D 2nd edition Angrboda is briefly mentioned in as Fenrir's mother. The name Angurboda is listed in as a name of female frost or fire giants. D&D 3rd edition Angrboda is briefly mentioned in as the mother of Hel. The updated spelling her of her name, Angrboda, comes from this sourcebook. According to this book, all the giants of Jotunheim are at least quasi-deities. It is not known what sort of giant she is by D&D rules, although the eldritch giant from may make a good fit. D&D 4th edition The Norse pantheon does not appear in D&D 4th edition. Creative origins Angrboda appears in Norse myth. In the 13th century Prose Edda, Snorri names her as the giantess mother of Fenrir, Hel and Jormungandr, who she raises in Jotunheim. The gods are concerned that they will grow up evil, partly due to the influence of their evil mother. In Voluspa, the prophecy of Ragnarok, stanza 38 is thought to refer to Angrboda, though it does not mention her by name. An old giantess sits in Jarnvid, meaning "Ironwood", where she birthed Fenrir's kind. The Prose Edda also refers to a giantess named Jarnvidia, and a group of giantesses called the Jarnvidiur. In any case, the giantess is said to be the mother of giant sons in the shape of wolves, from whom are descended Skoll and Hati Hrodvitnisson. According to Baldrs draumr, Angrboda may be the dead witch or seeress who narrates Voluspa, based on her description as the mother of three thurses (giants or monsters). This would mean Angrboda dies before Loki causes the death of Balder. Contrary to the D&D canon, the original Norse myths do not name Gerd's mother as Angrboda, but rather a separate giantess named Aurboda. References Category:Assassins Category:Witches Category:Unknown giants Category:Norse deities